Warning: Mountail Lion spotted!

I was out doing some road riding today. The hills out in the Ransom Twp. area are excellent for building leg muscles. Anyway, I was headed south on state route 3005/Lower Narrows Road. When I got about 3/10 of a mile past Ransom Road I spotted movement in the brush about 20 yards from me. It spotted me and took off up through woods. I just wanted to warn those of you who may ride in this area. I was talking to Tom today of Around Town Bikes and he told me that one had also been spotted last year in the area of State Route 292 although I'm not aware of the specific location. Just wanted to let everyone know to be cautious if you're out that way.

and yet these cats never come around during hunting season when there are a million hunters in the woods pushing game, packing guns and carrying cameras . let me guess....no pics of the ransom kitty either. i love these threads.

i do realize however that my denial to the realization of this phenomenon will ultimately lead to me being the first documented mauling of biker by a lion in the state of pa

and yet these cats never come around during hunting season when there are a million hunters in the woods pushing game, packing guns and carrying cameras . let me guess....no pics of the ransom kitty either. i love these threads.

i do realize however that my denial to the realization of this phenomenon will ultimately lead to me being the first documented mauling of biker by a lion in the state of pa

Nope, no pics. It's kind of hard to stop a bike from about 15-20 m.p.h. take my hydro pack off and pull my camera out before one of these things is out of my lens range. You're skepticism is understandable though. I've heard reportings from hunters and hikers alike in this area for several decades. Many of which were spotted on the same mountain ridge that is less than 1/10 of a mile from my own home. The fact that you haven't seen one and don't know of anyone who has doesn't mean they are not out there. I'm only reporting what I saw. Take it or leave it.

We have a Serval on the S. Mountain ridge in the Lehigh Valley area. Bigger than a bobcat, smaller than a mountain lion and most likely a pet that someone couldn't handle anymore. Is there the possibility its one of these? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serval

I saw a big cat

I'm no zoologist so I have no idea what kind of cat this was. I saw it about 2 years ago leaving the east parking lot of Rattling Creek heading south on Powell Valley Road. That is state game land #210 (Broad Mountain).

I was driving down the road and it was crossing ahead of me. At first I started to slow down because I thought it might be a lost dog based on the size. Then I saw the long J shaped tail and thought what kind of dog is that? It slinked across the road and stopped to look back at me. As soon as I saw the face, I knew immediately it was a cat. It was roughly 20" high across the spine and had a long tail about 30% longer than it was tall. It had a brownish, uniform coat and no spots.

Steiny, what I saw was slighly larger than my overweight black lab. Thick legs, long thick tail with a white spot and a light brown uniform coat with no stripes or spot. Much like yourself, I knew it was a cat as soon as I saw it's head and face.

OK, I just looked at some web catalog of big cats and as soon as I got to like slide 15, bingo, that was it. It was a cougar (aka mountain lion). The color, the long tail, the super tight coat, and the face are a dead ringer. None of the other pictures were even close.

So, I'm going on record and saying I saw a cougar. Yowzah! Now I know what everyone keeps talking about.

OK, I just looked at some web catalog of big cats and as soon as I got to like slide 15, bingo, that was it. It was a cougar (aka mountain lion). The color, the long tail, the super tight coat, and the face are a dead ringer. None of the other pictures were even close.

So, I'm going on record and saying I saw a cougar. Yowzah! Now I know what everyone keeps talking about.

Good to know I'm not the only one! I know I'm not crazy and I wasn't high... on that particular ride. lol I was talking to a LBS owner a few days ago who had told me that a mountain lion had been spotted by a rider or group of riders about 6 or 7 miles north of my spotting last season. I'm still going to ride the area. I do a lot of road and MTB riding out there so there's no way I'm going to avoid going out there.

... It was a cougar... The color, the long tail, the super tight coat, and the face are a dead ringer. None of the other pictures were even close.
So, I'm going on record and saying I saw a cougar. Yowzah! Now I know what everyone keeps talking about.

I've been riding the newton ransom area since 1983 on road, cyclocross and moutain bikes. This is an interesting thread. Although mountain lions are not supposed to be in this area I guess it's possible. I researched this on the internet and there are others who claim similar sitings.

couger

ive heard that the reason the game commission doesn't want to admit they exist in pa is because then they would have to add another endangered specis to the list and come up with comprehensive plan for how to protect them etc... in other words, alot more work.... ( my sister in law swears she saw one in the woods behind her house in montdale one time)

ive heard that the reason the game commission doesn't want to admit they exist in pa is because then they would have to add another endangered specis to the list and come up with comprehensive plan for how to protect them etc... in other words, alot more work.... ( my sister in law swears she saw one in the woods behind her house in montdale one time)

I really don't have a strong opinion either way on this topic, but this in an interesting argument, albeit a bit conspiratorial, that I hadn't heard before. Warton is correct that the US Fish and Wildlife Service lists the North American Mountain Lion as an endangered species. I was nerdly enough to peruse the Endangered Species Act of 1973 statute (specifically Section 6) - the cliffs notes version:

-authority resides with the States to determine if a species is endangered or threatened

- The Federal government will provide funding up to 75% (or up to 90%, whenever two or more States having a common interest in one or more endangered or threatened species,
the conservation of which may be enhanced by cooperation of such States)

- Federal funding is contingent on States having a comprehensive conservation program in place.

I would love to believe that WILD (not including privately released) Eastern Mountain Lion population exists. But if they exist then you have to consider what critical mass is required to sustain the species. Male mountain lions have a range of around 150 sq miles and the females about 75 sq miles. Yet they're "spotted" all over New York and Pennsylvania. If there's a wild EML population then there would need to be scores if not hundreds of EML out there. Why are there no verified fecal samples, or even footprints?

Um Yes sir, I like to walk around the deeper woods looking for s88t, Oh, of course Sir, I can recognize different forms! Um no, I don't how the hell to use a multispectragraph! I just look for the peanuts!

Um Yes sir, I like to walk around the deeper woods looking for s88t, Oh, of course Sir, I can recognize different forms! Um no, I don't how the hell to use a multispectragraph! I just look for the peanuts!

Retum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It almost killed him!

ride

Haa!!!
I knew that the scat fiends couldn't resist.
Seriously though, there has been thousands of documented cougar sightings in the eastern states in the last 30 years. Where is the poo? Have you seen any Lee?

Haa!!!
I knew that the scat fiends couldn't resist.
Seriously though, there has been thousands of documented cougar sightings in the eastern states in the last 30 years. Where is the poo? Have you seen any Lee?

Lesson I have learned: Keep my mouth shut regarding possibly dangerous wildlife spottings! You can all be sure I will never report a disco dancing brown bear wearing a party hat in the woods while listening to the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack. Nope, you'll never hear me uttter a single word again... I promise. lol

FOX 43 News in York Pa. did a story last month about an area in York or Harrisburg that has some large cats roaming the area--it is next to a residential area and those residents were worried.. Don't know if they were pets or escaped from somewhere. So they are out here in Pa.

A few years ago there was a 'pet shop' in Columbia Pa..--A PET SHOP, not an individual that sold Monitor's, baby Alligator's, Viper's and Cobra's--They even made a special cage with a board to slip in the middle for when you clean the cages--they made you buy them if you bought a poisionous snake! -----------------There's no telling what pet's people could have had--and what's running aroung in Pa woods!! I'd like to know if folks see things in the wood's!! That's why I won't ride at Pequea, they got rattlesnake's...

people suck. gotta feel sorry for anything that is held in captivity and then just thrown outside in conditions where the animal will not be able to survive, even if its a snake.
my vote for the poll in the other thread....i'll ride alone.

It's easier to just cast something off rather than to be responsible and do the right thing! Look at all the garbage thrown around in the woods we all see on our rides that the everyday person never sees. It really sucks when it's a living thing treated as garbage.

Well, obviously there was a time when they did inhabit PA (i.e. PSU Nittany Lions).

However, I think the 5th poster, ganginwoods, is correct. There are thousands of hunters who put trail cams up in the woods to take (automatically) a picture of any animal that walks by day or night. No one has ever been able to produce a time stamped photo of a mountain lion from a game cam that they can prove was from PA. Just based on that fact, I am thinking it is highly unlikely any exist in PA.

Bobcats can get pretty large.

I'm not trying to be flip about what someone thinks they did or didn't see. I just think if there were any there would be some concrete proof. Kind of like how there probably aren't bigfoots even though people have "seen" them.

Well, obviously there was a time when they did inhabit PA (i.e. PSU Nittany Lions).

However, I think the 5th poster, ganginwoods, is correct. There are thousands of hunters who put trail cams up in the woods to take (automatically) a picture of any animal that walks by day or night. No one has ever been able to produce a time stamped photo of a mountain lion from a game cam that they can prove was from PA. Just based on that fact, I am thinking it is highly unlikely any exist in PA.

Bobcats can get pretty large.

I'm not trying to be flip about what someone thinks they did or didn't see. I just think if there were any there would be some concrete proof. Kind of like how there probably aren't bigfoots even though people have "seen" them.

And I think further to this point, take a look at the Florida Panther, which is a subspecies of the mountain lion. It's a critically endangered species, with only about 100 remaining in the wild.

In 2009 17 were killed by motorists.
In 2008 10 killed by motorists
In 2007 15 killed by motorists